


enthroned once more

by asmodbuer



Category: Pony Island (Video Game 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other, hehe......first fic :catsmirk:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmodbuer/pseuds/asmodbuer
Summary: Buer happens to comes across a peculiar daemon, who offered a chance of becoming a guardian again.But it sounds rather... sketchy. What if it's all a ploy?Who knows? Maybe it's genuine for this case.
Relationships: Asmodeus.exe/Buer.exe (Pony Island)
Kudos: 3





	enthroned once more

_Asmodeus._

Buer has always held a grudge against that name.

That name holds an immense amount of unpleasant memories. Asmodeus—the very daemon that kicked him out of his guardian seat—has put him in such a miserable yet vengeful state. That grudge turns into a goal to get revenge: end Asmodeus and claim the last core file all for himself. 

Years, perhaps even centuries ago, Asmodeus was created, replacing him so that Asmodeus—who has a lot of intelligence and tricks up his sleeve—gets the role of protecting and guarding the last core file.

The last core file was extremely important, after all. Once all the core files are deleted, the system will shut down and begin dumping its contents out. To some daemons and Lucifer himself, the system dump is the same as the end of the world. The contents of the game— _Pony Island_ —will be deleted permanently, and all the poor souls who were held captive will finally reach a place where they’ll be free of sin and go to heaven safely; purgatory. 

But Lucifer doesn’t want that to happen. He’ll lose everything.

Fortunately, with Asmodeus guarding the core file, it'll be safe and sound with him around. Mortals would fall for his tricks with no fail, ultimately losing to him. Asmodeus was well known to distract and trick people—the king of deception, one would say. Fooling people is his greatest talent: no superpowers, no upgrades, nothing. Just him and his instructions. 

But, even if Asmodeus was useful, there should be no reason for his creation. The core file already has its own guardian before he existed—Buer himself.

_This has to be some sort of mistake._

Before, there were just three guardians for each core file, but now there are _four_ trying to guard three core files. There is always a purpose for each daemon, but after Asmodeus existed, everything fell apart. 

It took a moment to realize that once Asmodeus was made, Buer already lost. He had no chance against Asmodeus, who is superior to him in every way.

Thus, Buer was replaced, and Asmodeus became an official guardian of the last core file.

But—it felt unfair. This was unacceptable.

_This isn’t fair…this isn’t fair at all! How did this even happen?!_

The very thought of being created only to be thrown away as rubbish made his blood boil. Was he not deemed worthy enough to be a core guardian? Was there bias against him? Perhaps he wasn’t as great and intelligent as Asmodeus…

Soon, these thoughts and questions filled with indignation soon became depressing—these negative thoughts began deprecating his value as a core guardian, and as a daemon. Soon, he began to see why he was not worthy of being a guardian:

_Master very much preferred Asmodeus than me._

_Master didn’t pay enough attention and care for me._

_Master wasn’t satisfied with me._

_…_

_I wasn’t good enough for my Master._

* * *

Dark. It was dark and lonely inside of the arcade. 

Stuck in the overworld’s oblivion, Buer made a plan to murder Asmodeus in cold blood for satisfaction and for his own good. The thought of killing Asmodeus, the thought of regaining the core file he once lost against… both of them sound very satisfying.

As much as he wants his plan to work, being stuck in the middle of nowhere makes this plan impossible to work. No one will ever find Buer ever again, and they never will. 

Lucifer knew what he was doing—replace Buer and leave him to rot. There’s no hope now.

 _…Maybe giving up is a good idea, after all._ Buer thought. 

As he continued to linger around, a strange yet familiar voice came out behind him, “It’s been a while, Buer.”

The voice immediately made Buer nearly jump out of his skin. He hastily turned around to see his worst rival appear before his very eyes—

Asmodeus. The very daemon that kicked Buer out of his guardian role.

Buer growled, “Asmodeus…where did you come from…?!”

“Traveling here was a hassle. You don’t want to get too far away to the point where it’s impossible for me to find you, no?” Asmodeus chuckled, "I figured you’re stranded here all alone, reminiscing about everything that had happened in the past. It’s a shame on how you were treated—undeserved, I must say.”

Buer glared at him, “You…” 

_I don’t need pity from the likes of you. You knew what_ **_he_ ** _was doing. You’re making a fool out of yourself._

“…But detaching yourself from others is unnecessary and will make you look like a sad, lonely old fool—which you already are right now. If you continue to stay here for too long, everyone including _him_ will forget about you.”

“I believe that Ma—” Buer paused for a moment. 

Then he corrected himself and continued, “… _he_ and the others have already forgotten about me by now.” 

“That seems about right. You poor thing…the world is truly unfair, isn’t it?” Asmodeus’ sarcastic attitude never fails to piss Buer off. If he’s here just to mock him, then murder—justice will be served. This would be a good opportunity to end him.

That is until Asmodeus said something unexpected.

“Ahem—say, how about this? Would you believe me if I said that I wanted you to accompany me while I guard the core file?”

Buer didn’t quite understand that, “Pardon me?”

“I would like you to join me. As a guardian.”

Buer stood there dumbfounded.

He took the time to process what he was hearing. He couldn’t believe what he just heard from those very exact words. After a short while, it finally dawned on him.

“…Wait, you don’t mean—”

Asmodeus gave him a pleased smile, “Yes, I mean it.”

?!

Hearing this from someone who ruined his life paralyzed Buer. Did he hear this correctly? This can’t be happening—

“Now, of course, I can handle this role all by myself but... it feels quite lonely, to be honest. A little company wouldn’t hurt—in fact, it would be enjoyable to talk to someone that is the same as me.” 

Asmodeus…felt lonely? Azazel and Beelzebub definitely did not feel lonely at all when guarding core files. But he did recall that he has a so-called ‘sophisticated AI,’—he may have a strong sense of feeling a variety of emotions—a feeling of sensitivity, unlike his fellow comrades. 

Perhaps Asmodeus wanted to redeem himself, and if that’s the case, then Buer will finally tolerate him now. Along with that, Buer can finally have his seat as a guardian again, but it comes with a price—Asmodeus will be there too. It sounds quite troublesome, as there will be two guardians protecting a single core file. But it’s alright, because Buer finally got his seat as guardian back—

…No, Asmodeus would never do something like this. This is a fraud. A trick, perhaps.

Buer was fed up with this ‘nonsense’ Asmodeus is pulling. He glared at him with a scowling expression, “I am not falling for one of your tricks, Asmodeus. Don’t you _dare_ try to deceive me.”

Asmodeus’ hopeful expression faded.

“What a let-down,” he groaned, “I was hoping you’ll at least consider it. Oh well, here goes that opportunity of becoming a guardian again. I’ll take my leave—”

Before Asmodeus even got the chance, Buer interrupted him with a firm voice, “Wait. How do I know you’re not pulling tricks on me?”

“If this was a trick, my behavior would completely change—I would have mocked you for falling for it.”

This wasn’t enough. Buer rolled his eyes, irritated at Asmodeus’ half-assed answer.

“…It seems that you still aren’t convinced. Don’t forget that I traveled in great lengths in order to reach you. Does my actions not persuade you, either?” To be fair, Asmodeus did make an effort to reach Buer. The distance between them was quite lengthy, and yet Asmodeus never gave up and continued. There was respect for that.

Buer pondered for a moment. All of this made sense. Maybe what Asmodeus said was genuine, after all.

“…Perhaps I was too skeptical. I appreciate your gesture, but this is rather… strange of you. This is not like you at all.”

Asmodeus raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“…Since when did you have a sudden change of heart? When did you feel as lonely as me?”

There was silence.

“…A sudden change of heart, you say? You sound so ignorant right now.” Asmodeus’ sternful voice broke the silence—an angry tone that may have shaken Buer up.

“Huh?”

“You think I act so high and mighty all the time, hm? Is that what my image is about?” Asmodeus continued to rant further, “An image where I can’t express my vulnerability? You have never seen this side of me until now, no? Answer this—what do you think my image is? Be truthful.”

“Your image…” 

Buer gave some thought to the question. 

“… You have lived with integrity. I assumed you might be slightly centered too, but also have high respect for the people that you deem as… ahem, worthy.”

“And after a long journey to reach you, what do I deem you as?”

Buer immediately got the answer and averted his eyes, slightly embarrassed.

“…I …I believe you, Asmodeus. Perhaps you have good intentions after all—which surprised me in the slightest…”

Asmodeus was satisfied with Buer’s answer, relieved, “Haha, I like to hear that. Still deciding?”

That’s right. The sweet opportunity of being a guardian again.

This is the moment Buer was waiting for. He took a deep breath and finally gave a firm answer, “…I’ll like to have my seat as guardian back. I’ll gladly accompany you, Asmodeus.”

“I see. Everything is settled then. This will do.”

“…Wait, what if _he_ finds out about this? I am not worthy of anything anymore…” This raised even more questions: how is the mortal going to react with two guardians? Is Asmodeus going to stand here and do all the dirty work? Is—

“You are worrying too much, it’ll be fine. He won’t notice a thing since he is focusing on programming. He’s as busy as a bee, no?” he chuckled.

“… Asmodeus.” Buer blurted.

“Hm?”

“…What do you gain from this?”

Asmodeus thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Nothing. All I wanted is some company. Perhaps this might change our relationship a bit. I’ll savor this moment and your company until I—or we—die.”

Buer furrowed his brow, confused, “Die?”

“Yes. Death itself.” he said, “It’s an adventure I am looking forward to. Like you and the other daemons, I have been pondering here for as long as time, even longer than the unfortunate souls trapped in here. Once the mortals take down the last core, I will vanish from this arcade without a trace.” he continued, “I will no longer serve my Master. There will be no purpose for me once I disappear.”

Death will be the first place a daemon will go through. It’s not surprising, since daemons are malevolent computer programs that will try to prevent any soul or mortal from escaping. This was expected.

“But, it will be fun to ride down the road of death with you.” Asmodeus added, “Knowing that I have you by my side, I’ll never be alone. Isn’t that wonderful? We’ll leave our legacies together.”

Buer was agitated at the thought of working with Asmodeus, but at same time, it sounds intriguing. He let out a low grumble, “I suppose so…”

There was a small chuckle coming from Asmodeus, “I’ll be looking forward to working with you. Stay still for a moment.” 

“… Stay still? What are you—”

Before Buer could finish his sentence, Asmodeus’s cursor clicked on Buer’s shortcut arrow on the bottom left of his face. There was an abrupt glitch on Buer’s appearance, as he now has five goat legs equally sprouted around his head, and may have gotten fluffier and bigger than he was before. Each of his five caprine legs is now constantly fidgeting and twitching at a different pace, and his left eye is more open and larger than the other. 

And there it was. Buer has transformed himself into his true form.

Buer took the time to process what just happened, and then shot a glare at Asmodeus, “Ask for permission next time, fool.”

Asmodeus let out a laugh, “I thought it’ll be good if I surprised you for a moment. Now that you have your seat as guardian back, we are going to head back to the last core file. Say...”

Asmodeus inspected Buer’s legs, which are constantly twitching—and crept a smug, “I’m sure you can walk, no?”

“Oh, be quiet!” Buer’s words were followed by Asmodeus’ good-humored laughter.

The five-legged daemon then begins walking or rolling by, lifting and setting down each leg and hoof for each turn, while rotating himself in the process. Even without a body, a head and a pair of five legs will be just fine for Buer to walk and roll in any direction.

“…It seems that I have underestimated you. Your anatomy is fascinating and disgusting at the same time.”

Buer has no response to that.

“Ahem, as proof as we made up, we’ll go back to where I left off together. We don’t want our last core file to be at risk of deletion without a little game, don’t we?”

“Ah, I hope not,” Buer chuckled, “…I feel honored that I have my seat as guardian back. I’m forever in your debt, Asmodeus. I was not expecting this.”

“I could very much use some company. Actually—I might consider needing an assistant such as yourself, too.”

The two of them laughed—maybe there’s still some hope for Buer, after all.

“Haha, I could lend you a hand—or a hoof, I suppose.” Buer glanced at Asmodeus with a soft grin on his face:

“Perhaps you’re not as bad as I thought.”

**Author's Note:**

> and then they were roommates  
> i...i finally finished it....!??!?!/!?! this sounds too wordy i dont think i proofread it... apologies if a sentence sounds weird!!!!!  
> hopefully this doesn't sound ooc!! i tried portraying both asmod and buer as accurate as possible lol  
> kudos are very much appreciated!! {￢ ͜ ʖ°} thank u 4 reading ♡


End file.
